Gearing up for NaNoWriMo 2017

NaNoWriMo begins in three weeks and I’m beyond excited! I’ve been laying the foundations of my project for over a month, getting to know my characters and creating a structure for the book. October is being spent outlining in as much detail as possible and November (NaNo month) will be for all the writing.

50,000 words feels like a lot to write in thirty days. It’s a slightly intimidating number and I’m not completely sure that I’ll manage it (it’ll be the longest thing I’ve ever written), but I’m going to give it my best shot. I felt a similar level of trepidation before starting my Camp NaNoWriMo projects in April and July of this year so it’s a familiar sensation. I completed both of those with plenty of time to spare, but they were less than half the length of this one. It’s a massive challenge but I do like massive challenges.

Although this project has been in my head and on my computer for a while now, it’s still very much a voyage of discovery. I’d like to say that I’m intentionally refining my process, but really I’m still getting to know it. I’ve found that I definitely need a solid outline or I end up changing my mind about things and having to rewrite a lot. I’ve also found that I can’t just sit down and create an outline from nothing because I’m more characters-first than story-first.

What I’ve discovered works for me is to have a firm concept in mind for the project, then spend time with the characters while creating a rough structure. As I get to know the people who live in my head, the story begins to shape itself based on their motives and desires. I create very detailed character profiles and this sparks chunks of dialogue and other vague sketches. These spontaneous bits and pieces may or may not end up in the finished project, but when they appear in my mind I write them down because they always help me to build the story.

I don’t want to say too much about the details of my project because I’m still creating it and so much is subject to change, but I’m happy to share a blurb (very much a work in progress!) and introduce you to the characters, so here goes…

A retired contract killer, a hacker with a poet’s soul, an underworld chauffeur, a musician with a penchant for blood magic and a solider struck by lightning.

Inspired by the concepts and symbolism in tarot’s major arcana, 22 Cards weaves a winding path through five lives connected by the delicate threads of chance and possibility.

Like this:

Related

4 Replies to “Gearing up for NaNoWriMo 2017”

You are so smart to have started a while ago. I just decided, on a whim, to do it. Like a week ago. I have been panic-organizing my thoughts since then! I’m lucky I decided to just do a story that has been percolating in my brain for a few years now, instead of the one I really want to do with Japanese yokai – there’s too much research to do there, and too much translation to English too

I did it many years ago… maybe 7 or 8 years ago, and it was hard, but not too bad if you don’t hold yourself to editing or anything. Just write for the sake of writing, and it’s not terrible. I did go back and find my old story, and realized skimming it that I basically re-wrote the same scene like 15 times, just moving slightly forward each time lol

I cannot wait to read a bit of yours, it sounds great! I am taking it’s more modern fantasy? That’s so exciting!! I need to figure out how to add you as a Nano friend, yours sounds truly fun! I like Mercy already.

It’s not fantasy-y…at least not much, more sort of ‘real world but weird’, if that makes sense? Or at least that’s how it is in my head right now, god knows what it’ll end up as by the end end of November!

I have to seriously fight with myself not to edit stuff. I’m hardcore obsessive and perfectionisty that way. Doing the month of flash fiction in January really helped me get past that because I accepted that I would basically be posting unedited first drafts every day for a month. It killed me at first but then it sort of became easier. I still twitch about it though.

Ah, gotcha! I guess I’m just stuck in “fantasy mode” since that’s basically all I’ve been obsessively thinking about. Real world is even harder – I had a chance to sit down once and talk to Neil Gaiman, and I commented that something like American Gods must have been so challenging to write, since it is so based in the real world.

See, I’m the other way. I have to challenge myself to actually edit – I guess I edit as I go, taking a lot longer, but it’s like pulling teeth to go back over something again!

Never miss a post :-)

All new posts, direct to your inbox!

FREE BOOKS!
Read online and download.

CAR THIEVESPublished February 2018

The year 2027. Edinburgh, Scotland. Disease has swept a deadly path through society. A nightlife mogul with a violent past, a sadistic drug dealer, an artist craving companionship, a privileged playboy and a fiercely independent motor mechanic struggle to survive in the chaotic and brutal leftover world of the immune.

When a robbery takes an unexpected turn, part-time criminal Andie Valentine is forced to make a difficult choice: dive deeper into a dangerous but lucrative world or escape to a new beginning, abandoning her home in Edinburgh and her last connection to the girl who changed her life and shattered her heart.

If you’ve read one of my free books or stories and enjoyed it, found my blog posts useful or entertaining, or had happy eyes when looking at my photography, you’re welcome to offer a simple and secure contribution of your choosing through PayPal.